Weather Cancellation: Sawmill Day In Century Rescheduled For June
May 2, 2025
The Alger Sullivan Historical Society has canceled the 35th Anniversary Sawmill Festival in Century for Saturday, May 3 due to weather. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 7.
Vendor spaces are available for $20. Those interested can contact Christina at (850) 377-6752. Vehicle enthusiasts can register bikes for $15 and classic cars for $25.
The free event will be held in the historic district at the corner of 4th Street and Jefferson Avenue.
Pictured: Sawmill Day in 2024. NorthEscambia.comp photos, click to enlarge.
Commission Approves In $25 Million In Tourist Dollars To Upgrade John R. Jones Complex, Including Artificial Turf
May 2, 2025
The Escambia County Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved an Escambia County Tourist Development Council (TDC) recommendation to allocate $25 million for upgrades, including artificial turf, for the John R. Jones complex on East Nine Mile Road with a focus on sports tourism.
The TDC approved the recommendation at their April 15 meeting and forwarded it to the commission for necessary final approval.
The county will move forward with obtained a bank loan for $25 million to be repaid with TDT funding. The annual debt service is estimated to range from $2.1 to $3.3 million with payments coming from tourism tax revenues, not the county’s general fund.
John R. Jones Complex
The John R. Jones complex currently has 18 baseball and softball fields, plus two rectangular multi-use fields for sports such as football, lacrosse, soccer, cheerleading and more.
Over $2 million in LED lighting improvements were made last year at the park.
According to the proposal, the new facility will attract hundreds of teams, players and fans for tournaments and be competitive with similar facilities in nearby communities such as Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, Daphne and more.
There are 23 hotel properties within seven miles, and it is about 15 minutes from the Pensacola International Airport.
The Nine Mile Road facility will have the capacity to host 39 weekend tournaments plus 12 full week tournaments during the summer, creating over $2.3 million in revenue subject to the tourist development tax.
Breaking Down The $25 Million
The $25 million will fund:
- $20 million – Artificial turf for 20 Fields
- Approx. $1 million per field
- 18 multi-dimensional diamond fields,
- Plus, two rectangular multi-use fields
- $500,000 – Landscaping & Common Areas
- Flower beds and aesthetic landscaping
- $1.2 million – Sidewalks & Parking Upgrades
- Entryway and sidewalk connectivity
- $1 million – Fence, Shade & Dugout Work
- Overall fence work, shade areas & dugout upgrades
- $1.5 million – Concessions & Building Upgrades
- Remodeling and upgrading buildings.
- Miscellaneous Expenses – $400,000
- Various Aesthetic Upgrades
- Design – Permits or Consulting Fees – $400,000
- Potential fees for design or consulting
Escambia County Parks and Recreation Director Michael Rhodes said a conversion to article turf fields will also eliminate the need and expense of fertilizers, pesticides, water, and mowing.
Stakeholder Support
The project has received letters of support from key stakeholders, including:
- NEP Baseball
- 2D Sports
- USSSA
- USFA
- UWF
- PSC
- Home2 Suite – Davis Hwy.
- Courtyard West Pensacola
- Zen Hospitality
- Escambia County Destination Marketing Organization
Northview Lady Chiefs Beat Jay To Claim Rural District 1 Championship (With Gallery)
May 2, 2025
It’s been a long time coming.
The Northview Lady Chiefs beat the Jay Royals 9-1 on Thursday night to win the Rural District 1 championship — the Lady Chiefs first district championship since 2019.
The Chiefs blasted ahead in the top of the second inning with a two-run home run from Bailey Burkette, and RBI single from Jamison Gilman and a two-run single from Addysen Bolen.
Sophomore Mikayla McAnally pitched a complete game for Northview, striking out 17 while allowing one earned run on three hits.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Gilman, Burkette and Kylee Langham each went 2-4 while Riley Brooks went 2-3.
“I have a very young team. We have one senior and one junior, the rest ninth and tenth graders,” head coach Amy Holland said. “We have a strong team still. They’ve worked so hard, and this means a lot to them. And they told us from the beginning, they’re going to get it done, and they’ve worked really hard and here we are 9-1. That’s a great win tonight over the first-place team in our area.”
Holland said McAnally, who had three of her 17 strikeouts in the last inning, didn’t play like a sophomore.
“She’s a very hard worker,” she said, “just seeing her from last year to this year. Wow. We threw Jamison (as pitcher) on the Paxton game. Of course, you’ve got to win that game to get to this game. And so, I asked Mikayla, I said, ‘Mikayla, can you do it?’ And she said, ‘I can do it, coach.’ And before she came out there before the game, she said, ‘I’ve got this.’ So, hats off to her for a great job.”
Holland said she’s looking forward to bringing a regional playoff game to Bratt. Northview will likely face Chipley next Thursday night.
“It’s going to be great to be able just to play that first playoff game back a Northview and have all of our fans there and not have to travel so far down. It’s a great opportunity for our community.”
“It took four years to get here, and we finally did it,” Gilman, Northview’s only senior, said after the game. “It’s definitely a good feeling to be on top 9-1 too. That’s a big deal to win by that much in a championship.”
“We are ready. This is the start of our season where we keep going. We are going to state. We’ve got it this year,” McAnally said.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lipscomb Elementary Names Students Of The Month
May 2, 2025
Lipscomb Elementary School has named their April Students of the Month. They are Grayson Cannon and Leena Abu Alloush. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bree Wiggins Named Tate Rodeo Queen; Rodeo Is Friday, Saturday Nights
May 2, 2025
Bree Wiggins has been named the 2025 Tate FFA Alumni Foundation Rodeo queen. She is a freshman is Tate High School.
First runner-up was Annoelynn Lawson. Other contestants were Autumn Heist, Aubree Burke and Makayla Godwin.
The Tate FFA Alumni Rodeo will take place Friday and Saturday nights at the Escambia County Equestrian Center at 7750 Mobile Highway. The arena is covered and will take place rain or shine. Event time is 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available on GoFan.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County May Spend $34 Million For Four New Fire Stations, One Expansion
May 2, 2025
The Escambia County Commission may use $34 million in unallocated Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds to build or expand five fire stations to enhance fire protection in the county.
The plan was presented on Thursday by Commissioner Ashley Hofberger. Her proposal includes addition of a second fire station in Cantonment and the addition of living quarters to an existing station in Dogwood Park.
“I would like to ask the board to consider spending that on making sure that everyone in our community receives the fire services that they need and that the people who have been impacted in our community with higher homeowners insurance because of stations moving or closing, that we can help alleviate some of that,” she said.
The plan aims to make the following improvements:
1. 7209 Lillian Hwy-Replacement, $8.5 million
2. New Fire Station 24, Highway 97 and Kingsfield Road in Cantonment, $6.5 million
3. New Fire Station in Paradise Beach, $6.5 million on a site to be determined
4. Replacement station at 9350 Gulf Beach Highway, $8.5 million
5. Molino Station 21/Dogwood Park, 4307 White Ash Road, add living quarters, $4 million
Hofberger identified the locations with the assistance of Escambia County Fire Chiefs Adam Harrison. Her proposed timeline includes issuing a request for proposals by June 1, proposal evaluation by August 1, and groundbreakings by March 1, 2026.
District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry expressed his support for the proposal.
“I’m very familiar with the two areas (Dogwood Park and Cantonment) that are highlighted in the constituency that I have,” he said, adding that he thought a proposed timeline was “very aggressive.” He added, “if the gist of it is you’re looking for general levels of support and the opportunity to move the ideas or combined ideas forward, I’m good with that.”
“I believe public safety is probably our premier job, our first priority other than EMS and the sheriff’s department as well,” Commissioner Chairman Mike Kohler said.
During discussion with the commissioner, Harrison shared his desire for a comprehensive training facility for county firefighters to be located in the Brownsville area. An additional “satellite” facility could be located in the Molino area to train firefighters from the North Escambia area.
The main training multi-story training building would include high-rise operations training, hazardous materials training, collapse, and confined space rescue training and more.
The county commission was in a workshop during Thursday’s the discussions, and any plans must be approved at a future regular board meeting.
Pictured: Escambia County Fire Station 21 on Whish Ash Road in Dogwood Park. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Falls 3-2 To Top Ranked Buchholz In 6A Baseball Regional Quarterfinals
May 2, 2025
It came down to the wire in game two of the 6A Region 1 semifinals on Thursday night as the Tate Aggies fell to Buchholz 3-2 in Gainesville. Tate lost to the top ranked Bobcats in game one Wednesday night.
Thursday night’s game was tied at two in the bottom of the seventh when Buchholzs scored one run on a single.
Nathan Connors (pictured above) allowed eight hits and three runs in six and one-third innings, striking out five and walking three.
Nathan Ozuna went 1-2 for the Aggies at bat with one run batted in. Cal Foxworth went 2-3, Hunter Clayton was 1-3 and Griffin Cook was 1-2.
Buckholz will face No. 2 Pace in the regional finals with game one of three next Wednesday. The winner will advance to the 6A state semifinals in Fort Myers.
Tate’s season ended at 16-14.
Photos by C.J. Gish – Mainstreet Daily News for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Walks Give Wahoos Wild 6-5, 11-Inning Win Over Barons
May 2, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
Fresh off their best April in team history, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos began the month of May with a wild 6-5, 11-inning win over the Birmingham Barons on Thursday night.
Two bases-loaded walks in the top of the 11th forced in the eventual game-winning runs as the Blue Wahoos (17-7) outlasted the Barons (12-11) in their longest game of the season.
Pensacola jumped ahead 1-0 in the first against Barons starter Riley Gowens, loading the bases with two singles and an error before Nathan Martorella brought in a run with a double-play grounder.
The Barons became the first opponent this season to score a first-inning run against the Blue Wahoos, ambushing starter Evan Fitterer with a two-run single from Ryan Galanie to take a 2-1 lead. The Blue Wahoos had outscored opponents 16-0 in the first inning through their first 23 games.
Rikuu Nishida added to the Birmingham lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning. With severe weather surrounding Regions Field on all sides, light rain in the fifth inning almost caused a rain delay just as the game became official.
The two teams played on, and the Blue Wahoos reclaimed the lead in the sixth with a Kemp Alderman RBI groundout and Martorella two-run double. Their 4-3 edge would be short-lived, however, as Birmingham’s Jacob Burke hit a RBI single off Pensacola reliever Zach McCambley in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game 4-4.
Nigel Belgrave contributed 3.0 hitless innings of relief to help send the game to extras, and Josh Ekness (W, 2-0) came up big in the bottom of the tenth after the Blue Wahoos had left the bases loaded in the top half of the inning. Ekness needed only 10 pitches to get three outs and strand the potential winning run at third base, extending the drama to the 11th inning.
The Blue Wahoos didn’t manage any hits against Gil Luna (L, 0-3) in the top of the 11th, but drew four walks to force in two runs. Mark Coley II pushed across the first run with a two-out free pass, and Jared Serna followed suit with the RBI that would prove to be the difference. Ekness allowed an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but struck out Burke to finish off a 6-5 final.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series on Friday against the Barons.
Eight Years Later, Mother’s Plea Continue For Clues In Molino Murder
May 1, 2025
Thursday marked eight years since Anna Louise Brown was murdered while jogging on Gibson Road in Molino.
On Sunday afternoon, April 30, 2017, Brown, 38, was found face down on the side of the road near the Alligator Creek bridge. She had been shot multiple times.
The search for her killer continues.
“My one hope for the case is that there be an arrest made, and the person who is responsible for Anna’s death be incarcerated for the rest of their life,” Anna’s mom Sue Brown told NorthEscambia.com on Thursday afternoon. “That person has had eight free years.”
“I would advocate for the person responsible to do the right thing and turn themselves in,” she added.
Brown pleaded for anyone that knows anything about the case to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured below: Anna Louise Brown was found murdered near this bridge on Gibson Road on April 30, 2017. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Weather Cancellation: Sawmill Day In Century Rescheduled For June
May 1, 2025
UPDATE: SAWMILL DAY AS BEEN CANCELED FOR SATURDAY, MAY 3 AND IS RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 7.
The Alger Sullivan Historical Society is set to host its 35th Anniversary Sawmill Festival on Saturday, promising a full day of fun, community, and nostalgia in Century’s Historic District.
Running from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the festival will feature a classic car and bike show, with awards presented at 3:00 p.m. Attendees can look forward to live entertainment, including performances by the Southern Revival Band and Nashville recording artist Ricky Crook.
Beyond the music, visitors can enjoy local food, crafts, and a variety of vendors. There will also be contests, raffles, museum tours, and exhibits that highlight the rich history of the area.
Vendor spaces are available for $20. Those interested can contact Christina at (850) 377-6752. Vehicle enthusiasts can register bikes for $15 and classic cars for $25.
The free event will be held in the historic district at the corner of 4th Street and Jefferson Avenue.
For a photo gallery from the 2024 Sawmill Day, click here..
Pictured: Sawmill Day in 2024. NorthEscambia.comp photos, click to enlarge.